The US Travel Association has locked in locations for its IPW trade show for every year right through to 2024. The association’s 47th annual IPW last week involved nearly 100,000 pre-scheduled business meetings – a record for the event.

IPW venues for the next eight years are:

2016 New Orleans

2017 Washington DC

2018 Denver

2019 Anaheim

2020 Los Vegas

2021 Chicago

2022 Orlando

2023 San Antonio

2024 Los Angeles

The final four cities are new announcements. The show will go to Chicago, Illinois in 2021 (fourth time as host since 1971, last hosted in 2014); Orlando, Florida in 2022 (a record eighth time as host, last hosted in 2015); San Antonio, Texas in 2023 (first time as host, and first IPW held in Texas since 2000); and Los Angeles, California in 2024 (sixth).

Last week, more than 6500 delegates from 73 countries, including over 1300 international and domestic travel buyers and 500 media from the US and abroad, attended the 47th annual IPW. The event, the American travel industry’s premier international marketplace and the largest single generator of travel to the US, convened in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Centre from 30 May to 3 June.

Over the course of three days, nearly 100,000 pre-scheduled business meetings – a record for IPW – took place between travel buyers and US travel organisations. Travel initiated by IPW is projected to bring 8.8 million international visitors to the United States, USD 28 billion in total spending, and USD 4.7 billion in direct bookings to U.S. destinations over the next three years, according to the independent firm Rockport Analytics.

While the immediate projected economic impact for Orlando is USD 11.6 million, the real payoff of IPW will ripple through the local economy for an estimated three years after, generating an estimated USD 1.7 billion in direct economic impact and an additional 1 million visitors.

Since IPW was last in Orlando in 2010, there has been significant growth in the number of travel buyers from key international markets, including the United Kingdom (40%), Brazil (30%), Mexico (66%), Germany (17%) and Japan (10%). This year, the Chinese delegation was the largest-ever at 109. Overall, the total delegation at IPW has increased 27% compared to Orlando 2010.

“IPW is an extraordinarily unique event, which brings the entire international travel and tourism marketplace to the US in one location,” said US Travel Association president and chief executive Roger Dow.

“The business conducted at IPW will have a tremendous effect, not only on the local economy initially, but several years into the future.”